The Pokemon Gunslinger Book 1: Salvation
by Kurotsuki Koyo
Summary: Several years before Ash began his Pokemon journey, Kanto was a desert. A desert filled with townsfolk, lawmen, criminals, and more. John Ketchum has dedicated his life to defeating these bad guys, but can this young cowboy do the job? READ AND FIND OUT!


**HIYA, pokemon peeps! What it BE? Name's Koyo, and oh boy, have I got a story for you guys! Yup, this is Pokemon set in the West. But unlike other pokemon fanfics, this is set as a prequel to Ash's/Satoshi's adventures in the anime you all know and love. This represents a time back in the simpler days before all this machinery was made. You'll see as you read.**

**My inspiration for this fanfic came after I beat a certain game, one that you will eventually know about as this fanfic goes on (but I'm sure most of you will be able to guess what it is). It features a lot of ideas that came out of the top of my head though, so I hope you go easy on me on the critism. **

**I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Ch. 1 The Gunslinger's Genesis**

Pallet Town was an up and coming refuge for farmers old and young. It was a quiet place, secluded in nature, hidden from the big cities. It was very green, trees stretching from as far as the eyes could see, and even then, all you could see was mountains with patches of green grass and shrubs. The sun began rising from behind those same mountains, creating a gorgeous scenery worth taking a picture of.

Herds of Ponyta and Rapidash galloped across the lovely pasture, flocks of Pidgeys, Pidgeottos, and the occasional Pidgeot soared the sky, and Rattatas and Digletts scattered on the ground. Pallet Town was known for its pokemon free roaming, as most cities and towns nowadays outlawed pokemon from even freely running through the streets. Funny too, considering that pokemon inhabited those exact areas before humans arrived and began industrialization.

A young man walked out of his house, putting his olive-colored cowboy hat on. He was a 5'8' young man that had exited his teenhood a while back, being the scruffy age of twenty-four. He had brown skin with the same colored eyes, with black hair, strands falling to his neck. Three slash scars were plastered across his left eye, a result of hunting Persians in previous years. He wore a gray vest over a yellow collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, with blue jeans and brown boots hidden underneath the pants. A lawman's badge gleamed brightly in the sun, attached to the right side of his vest. At his right side was a holster from a gun, but it wasn't there...

He looked out at the broad horizon, tipping his hat to cover his eyes from the sun's rays. He squinted his eyes, forced to turn to his left in order to not totally fry them. "Damn it! The sun's fryin' this morning!"

"Pichu pi!" A Pichu followed after the young man. It was an ordinary Pichu, except for a scar on it's right eye, courtesy of a Meowth.

"Pichu!" The young man smiled, picking up the small electric mouse. "Are you ready for the beginning of our lives?"

"Pi!" Pichu nodded happily, sparks emitting from his red cheeks in excitement.

"Today's the day you and I work as lawmen for Kanto's regional office, defending our land from criminals, gangs, and more." He said, a determined look in his eye. "You ready to kick some-"

"Dammit, John Ketchum!" A cranky female voice came from inside their red-roofed house. "What I tell you 'bout forgettin' your undies?"

"Mother!" John whined. "Don't say that so loud!"

A woman walked out, easily in her late forties. Her black hair was graying, and wrinkles had become more noticable on her face. She was a skinny-little thing, wearing a simple red nightgown. Widowed Ms. Serena Ketchum was no old lady though, and definitely no weakling.

"No one will hear us so early in the mornin!" His mother said. "Anyways, here's your sack that you completely forgot!" She handed him a small brown backpack that was easily adjustable on his pack, but wouldn't slow him down while he was running. "And those runnin' boots of yours will keep you goin' forever!"

"Running footwear, eh?" John muttered, pulling up his loose left boot. "Next thing you know, kids will be running around in running shoes."

"Yeah. And men will walk on the Moon, for Christ's sake!" She exclaimed. "Are you headin' out yet or not? I don't want little Jack to wake up and start bawlin' that his big brother's going-"

"BIG BWOTHERRR!" The cries of a little boy echoed through their house. John and Serena sighed as small footsteps became thumps that came nearer and nearer... until a little one -foot boy jumped out of the house in tears, grinding his face through their dirt walkway. He pulled his head back up and waddled to his big brother, grabbing his leg as he continued to cry.

Little Jack Ketchum was a seven-year old boy (short for his size), and unlike his brother, was not experienced in the ways of the wild. His skin was brown, but at a lighter tone, which complemented his big brown eyes. He wore a green shirt with a picture of a Tauros head for toughness, with small green pants and brown leather shoes.

"Big bwother!" He cried. "Don't go! Don't go!"

John sighed. "Let go of me, Jack. Be a man!"

"Wahhh!" Jack continued to cry. "No big bwother! No!"

"Pi..." Pichu said sadly, patting Jack on the head softly.

"For Christ's sake Jack, stop cryin' your brains out or you don't get no porridge for breakfast, ya hear me?" Serena snapped.

Jack sniffled a bit before clutching his brother's legs, shaking. "Yes, Mommy."

"Now Jack, I'm not gonna be gone forever." John said, kneeling and wiping his brother's tears away. "I'm gonna be out for a few months patrolling Kanto and then I'll be right back. You know how it is, with danger lurking in every corner." John stood up, beating his chest. "My job is to defeat those lawbreakers and bring justice to those people."

"Yeah... but what if you die?" Jack asked.

"I won't die." John replied. "I'm too strong to die. I promise you that."

"You sure...?"

"I swear." John said, giving his brother a pinky-promise.

"Alwight then!" Jack said, the tears gone. "And you pwomise you'll teach me to use the revolver?"

"You promised him that?" Serena asked, glaring.

"It was a long day, and me and Jack were having a good time." John said, breezily. "Don't matter much. Not like Jack will have to shoot real people with it."

He turned around and walked a few steps. "Well, looks like it's about time."

"Sure does." Serena said, slapping John on the back. "Yall better come back soon, ya hear? 'Else your brother will have a fit."

"Come back soon, big bwother." Jack said.

"I will." John said, and with that, began his walk down the hill. He turned back a few times to wave goodbye to his family, and by the sixth turn, only Jack was there still waving. Soon, even Jack was gone from sight. And with that, John turned around and began his journey.

John had originally planned to get to Viridian City through horseback, but then a close friend had asked a favor to ride with him carriage-style towards the city. His friend told him it would be nice to have company, and it would be great to have a gunslinger on a dangerous road.

His friend lived in a nice two-story house atop a hill with a windmill right next to it. John didn't particularly like the new technology, partially because a thunderstorm could break and knock it right on top of the house. But his friend persisted, saying it's a cheap and affordable way to get electricity.

A wooden wagon was placed at the bottom of the hill, with two Ponytas at the front. But no friend.

"Sam! Samuel Oak!" John yelled. "I'm here!"

"I'm coming!" A voice was heard from inside the house. The door opened, and out walked a man in his early thirties holding a suitcase. His dark brown hair was starting to gray, and small wrinkles had begun to form on his face. He had a slightly muscular tone however, a result of taking care of Pokemon. He wore a red turtleneck and tanned khakis.

"Geez, Oak. You sure spent your time getting ready." John said.

"I'm sorry, John." Oak said, hurriedly rushing down his steps towards the wagon. "I just wanted to have everything prepared for my very first Pokemon journey."

"In all honesty Oak, what you are doing is suicide." John said as Oak placed his belongings onto the back of the wagon. "You're planning to go research Pokemon in the vast plains of Kanto, but there's God-knows-what in those grasses and forests. Crazy men and criminals are out there, with guns... knives... and if you don't get killed by them, then some Tauros will stomp on you or some Charizard will blast you with fire."

"Nonsense, friend." Oak replied. "Pokemon are friends with humans. We just need to be friends with them."

"If you say so, partner." John said.

"Pichu!" Pichu said happily.

"See! Look at Pichu!" Oak said, patting the small electric mouse's head. "You two are the best of friends-"

"We're partners. Partners through thick and thin." John answered. "Even through death."

"A beautiful resolution, if I may say." Oak said. "Beautiful poetry."

"Nothin' beautiful 'bout getting killed." John said gravely. "Ain't nothin'."

Oak, oblivious to his friend's remark, hopped onto shotgun. John immediately shoved him into the driver's seat and took shotgun. "Nu-uh. No way. You remember what happened _last _time you rode shotgun."

Oak sighed and said, "Yes. Yes. I remember." The older man took the reins and snapped the two Ponytas into galloping down the dirt road.

As they began to exit Pallet Town, John took one last glance of his home on the hill. It was a little sad, but John knew where his destiny lay. "So long..."

"Did you say something?"

"Keep your eyes on the road, old man!" John barked.

* * *

><p>Route One was the only route that connected Pallet Town to Viridian City. As a wide open plain with patches of grass here and there, it was a place for the simple Pokemon to rest. Pokemon like Pidgey and Rattata were extremely common, making it a safe place to travel pokemon-wise. It was also the perfect place for Pokemon cattle to graze since there wasn't too much or too little grass. And since both places weren't very busy, crime wasn't a huge issue.<p>

"Isn't it beautiful?" Oak remarked dreamily.

"If you call a dirt wasteland with small patches of grass 'beautiful'." John replied, snapping the reins to make the Ponytas go faster.

"Pichu." Pichu added.

"You see, you always see the negative of things, John." Oak said. "This is a natural habitat for Pokemon. If only you could see how beautiful it is..."

"Old man, you are getting more and more senile every day." John said. "The natural habitat for Pokemon is like our homes. Plain, affordable, comfy, and dirty. Same here, except you don't pay nothin'. I guess it's beautiful in that sense."

"No, it's different." Oak replied. "Pokemon are different from humans. That's why they have different shape, different looks, different attributes, and more! They're unique, John! And that's why they're amazing!"

"They're just like us." John said. "Look at Pichu. He eats, he sleeps, he poops."

"Pi pi!" Pichu said, switching from shoulder to shoulder.

Oak sighed. "Always the pessimist John."

"Always the optimist, Samuel." John muttered back.

A couple walking past greeted them. The man spoke up. "Good morning, gentlemen."

"Howdy, Mister." John said, tipping his hat to the man and wife. "How are you this fine morning?"

"Sure am good." The man said.

"Are you two heading to Viridian City?" His wife asked.

"Why yes." Oak replied.

"You better be careful on the way there." The man said. "I heard some small group of bandits have been talking about claiming this here Route One as their own, and they might be comin' out here today."

"I'll keep that in mind, sir." John replied. "Take care."

Oak looked around nervously as John snapped the reins, leaving the couple to their personal business. "Bandits? Here?"

"Aw, don't worry about it." John said. "If they come, I'll kill them. I'm a lawman, remember? I have the legal right."

Oak wasn't comforted in the least. John looked as the man continually shuddered, then shrugged as he snapped the reins again. Route One wasn't exactly the longest trail to travel on, and they were about halfway there to Viridian City.

Eventually they traversed over a hill. John squinted his eyes from the sun as he spotted a building far out. "Hey old man! Look. There's Viridian City!"

Oak stopped hiding in the back of the wagon and peeked out from below. He got up in excitement as he joined John side-by-side again. "Yes, quite! We've finally made it to Viridian City."

John nodded, but then his eyes traveled elsewhere to a patch of smoke coming from the distance, near the city. He immediately took out the binoculars in his small satchel and looked out there. Oak looked at him, confused for a few seconds.

"Pichu pi..." Pichu muttered, sparks emitting from his cheeks.

"Looks like my job starts early, old man." John said. "Sorry I couldn't get you outta here without trouble."

"What do you mean...?" Oak asked, sweating.

John handed him his binoculars. Oak nervously looked out in the direction John pointed out. A few seconds later, he let out a horrified gasp.

From the far direction, he saw a most gruesome sight. Surrounding the burnt-out campfire were six bandits, each with the generic bandana, shirt, baggy pants and boots, colorful revolvers in their hands. Two men lay on the ground, dead, blood slowly oozing out of their already bloodstained gun wounds. The only woman of the trio was still alive, but only because one of the men was doing horrific things to her. She screamed and moaned in sheer terror and pleasure, and Oak was further disgusted by the fact that she had a ring on her finger.

"This is bad!" Oak exclaimed. "Where's the Viridian law enforcers?"

"Probably out drinkin' or smokin' or somethin'." John said. "Since Viridian doesn't see much action, no lawman would want to stay in some hot, dusty sheriff office where the only things to do are sleep and drink."

"Well, let's turn back!" Oak shouted. "We'll get killed!"

"No way!" John yelled back. "I'm a lawman, y'know! It's my job to take care of criminals!"

"Well, it isn't mine!" Oak argued, even more panicked. "Get me outta here!"

"Aw come on, Oak." John said, his voice in a humorous tone. "Don't you want to know what it's like to fight crime?"

"I'm just a Pokemon researcher!" Oak yelled. "I don't want to be near those filthy savages!"

"Well, it's too late for that." John said.

Oak was too afraid to look back at the bandits to understand what John meant. Immediately he let out a terrified shriek as he saw three of the bandits hop on the Ponytas belonging to the trio and started after them!

"GET OUTTA HERE!" He screamed.

"With a wagon like this, there's no way we can get outta here." John said. "We're gonna have to fight them."

"But-" Oak gasped as he stared at John's holster. "You've got no weapons!"

"Then I guess there's one thing you don't know about Pokemon that I do." John said calmly. "See how those bandits' guns are all colorful and childish. That's 'cause their guns are actually Pokemon in a transformed state. All Pokemon can transform into some type of gun, whether it be rifle, shotgun, etc."

"Prepostrous!" Oak exclaimed. "Pokemon could never turn into weapons of destruction!"

"Just watch old man! Pichu, come here!" John called.

"Pichu!" Pichu said, hopping into the air. He immediately began glowing like a Pokemon would when transforming, except he glowed the color yellow rather than white. Oak gasped as he transformed into a revolver, falling into John's right hand.

"Here they come, old man!" John yelled. "You'd better duck!"

Three gunshots from afar caused Oak to scream in fright, jumping into the back of the wagon. John immediately jumped off the wagon as a bullet hit the driver's seat. Oak backed away as a gas emitted from the bullet. "What is that?"

"Dammit! They're using Weedles' as their weapon." John muttered as he jumped behind a rock. "Their bullets are infused with Weedles' poison. People are being more creative with their names these days. That attack's called Poison Sting."

"Aghh!" Oak screamed as a bullet nearly grazed him. He backed away as fast as he could as the gas emitted from the bullet.

"Die!" One of the bandits yelled, firing three more bullets at the wagon before being forced to reload. That was when John peeked out from the rock and aimed his revolver.

"Pichu, use Thundershock." He said. The revolver pulsed, showing Pichu's approval.

He fired a round from his revolver straight at the bandit, piercing his heart and shocking him, flying off his horse. The other two bandits immediately redirected their attention to the gunslinger, firing more toxin-infested bullets at him. John quickly ducked back behind the rock, blind firing at his enemies. While they didn't hit him, the Ponytas neighed and bucked their riders off them, galloping away. Immediately, they were shocked as two bullets hit their cocks!

"You picked the wrong gunslinger to mess with!" John roared, running past the dead bandits towards the wagon.

Oak jumped out of the back, hopping onto the driver's seat. He snapped the horses alive, and forced them to turn back to Pallet Town.

"Old man! Are you leaving me?" John yelled.

"I just want to get out of here!" Oak cried. "I hope you understand!"

Oak continually snapped them to gallop faster, not even noticing that he had just ran over a Rattata. John would've skinned the rat for his flesh and meat, but right now, two more bandits were coming after him.

The trio exchanged gunfire, leading to a standstill. John ran behind a tree to defend himself from the bullets in order to reload with PP rounds. Not wanting to stop, the bandits began firing at the wagon! Oak cried out as a bullet grazed his arm and hit one of the Ponytas in the back! It let out a horrific shriek and fell to the ground, dead. The other Ponyta neighed in fright, and began jerking the wagon in an attempt to get away, knocking the injured Oak onto the ground.

"Ahhh!" Oak screamed. "Save me!"

"Dammit, Oak!" John yelled, a shocking bullet sending a bandit to his knees! The other bandit turned around and fired Poison Sting at him, but John had dove to the side and shot him in the balls! An electric shock surged from the outside in, and it definitely drove him to his knees, until he fell dead.

"Urghh..." Oak groaned in pain as blood seeped out of the poisoned wound on his arm.

"You're an idiot, y'know." John said with a sigh. "And now you're poisoned."

"Ahh... help... me..." He barely managed to whisper.

"Not yet. I've got a damsel in distress to rescue." John replied, turning around. "Don't worry old man. The poison only grazed you. You won't die anytime soon."

John ignored Oak's pleas as he walked down towards the woman who was just raped. The only living bandit panicked and quickly wrapped his arm around her neck, pointing his Weedle revolver at her head. "D-Don't come any closer or I'll kill her!"

"You don't want to do that, friend." John replied calmly, his Pichu revolver still pointed at the enemy. "We all got one life to live. You don't want to regret takin' hers."

"Don't you play games with me, mister!" The bandit exclaimed, squeezing his grip on her, causing her to scream in pain. "I'll kill her! I really will!"

"C'mon, friend." John said, narrowing his eyes. "Just let her go... and no one will get hurt."

"I know what you doin'! You playin' those mind games on me, huh?" The bandit yelled, panic in his voice being more audible. "Ain't gonna work! Ain't gonna work I tell ya! I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna do it!"

"H... Help... ahhh...!" The woman cried.

"I'm gonna do it right now, mister!" The bandit shrieked ferociously. "She's gonna die r-"

_"...r...r...ri...rig...righ..."_

_Time had slown down. At least, time had slown down for John. The wasteland, the trees, the sky itself... everything had changed color into a shade of orange. It was as if the sun was setting just like in the Wild, Wild West. The only two things John could hear were the movement of the gun and the sound of his own heartbeat._

_The bandit was just about finishing his sentence before he was about to shoot. John knew. He could tell when a man was about to kill another human for some reason... by their tone of voice, their movement, etc. And he knew that he was about to pull the trigger._

_But time had slown down. He now had the time to calmly position his shot. But where would he shoot? Since he was holding the woman in front of his body, he only had two choices: the head or the hand with the trigger finger. Should he spare his opponent's life and shoot the gun... or should he end it right now and shoot him in the head? If John was a moralist, he'd probably shoot him in the hand..._

_But he isn't. A surging bullet instantly pierced the man's head, electrocuting his brain, blood spraying all over the ground, and he flew a foot into the air before falling with a thud._

"Ahhhhh!" The woman shrieked as she found some of the blood on her dress.

John blew the smoke away from his barrel. "You alright, Miss?"

She breathed heavily at first to calm herself down, but as soon as she did, she yelled, "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?"

"Excuse me?" John asked, taken aback from her startling question. He expected words of gratitude, not works of deceitfulness.

"You supposed to be the law! Our protectors!" She screamed. "My husband and brother were killed by these bandits, and then they raped me! And ya show up at the last minute like some knight in shinin' armor? More like piece a shit!"

"I am deeply sorry by your loss, ma'am, but I'm no omnipresent God." John said. "I-"

"Screw the law!" She continued to yell. "I got nothin' to live for!"

And John reluctantly reached out as she grabbed the dropped Weedle revolver and shot herself in the head, ending her life as the poison engulfed her brain. She fell to the ground with a thud.

John sighed. "Yup. These are the perks of the lawman."

"Help me, John!" Oak screamed. "The poison's getting to me!"

"Quit your whining, old man!" John snapped. "You're making your wound worse than it is!"

* * *

><p>Viridian City was perhaps the most green city in all of Kanto. It was the only place where the desertification didn't hit, givng it the description, "A beautiful city that is enveloped in green year-round." And gangs tended to stray away from Viridian since it was near the place of the police HQ. This made it the perfect place for ancient folk to dwell, as well as the retirees.<p>

"We're here, old man." John said. "The Viridian City hospital."

"Urr... help me off this wagon, John..." Oak said, groaning.

He was met with a kick off the wagon by his _friend_. Oak groaned even louder, but John didn't mind as he picked him up and brought him in.

The hospital wasn't too packed since crime wasn't a big issue. It was filled with mostly old folk and the sick.

"Hey!" An old man yelled as John and Oak cut in line to the front.

"Sir, I'm sorry but-" Nurse Joy froze as soon as she saw John's lawman badge. "Oh, I do apologize Mr. Ketchum! I didn't notice the badge! What can I do for you?"

"This poor old man was poisoned by a few bandits out on Route One." John said sarcastically. "Please help him Nurse Joy. He's gone delirious."

"Right away sir!" She exclaimed, bowing. "Please come with me, sir!"

And so, the three walked into an emergency room, leaving a crowd of protesting old men and women.

"Learn anything about the wild, old man?" John asked as Oak sat down on the chair. Chansey handed Nurse Joy an antidote, a shot vaccine. She rubbed Oak's wound a little bit, causing the man to shudder in pain.

"I've learned one thing." Oak replied, wincing a bit. "That going on a Pokemon jouney in Kanto's current state is suicidal. I'm going back to Pallet Town."

"You givin' up already?" John asked incrediously. "Didn't think you'd back down that fast."

"Kanto's a dangerous place, and we were only in Route One!" Oak exclaimed. "Just think what it would've been like in Viridian Forest! Or the Cerulean Cave! Pokemon aren't worth my life! I'm heading back!"

"What about your dream to research Pokemon?" John asked. "I thought it was you life-long dream!"

"Meh. I'll do it later." Oak said.

* * *

><p>The sun was setting in the green city of Viridian. John watched as Oak hopped into a rented carriage heading straight for Pallet Town.<p>

"You sure about this?" John asked.

Oak nodded his head. "I might regret this later on in my life, but at least I'll know that I didn't get killed."

And with that, he left.

Pichu instantly reverted back to his Pokemon form and gave a big smile to his owner. "Pichu!"

"Yeah... Oak's definitely gonna regret this decision." John replied. "Oh well. It's time for you and I to begin our crimebusting adventures, Pichu."

"Pichu!" Pichu exclaimed, hopping up and down.

_And so, John and Pichu begin their adventure to defeat the evil criminals and bandits of the Kanto region. Will they emerge victorious? Or will they be killed in a hailstorm of bullets? Find out on the next Pokemon!_

_TO BE CONTINUED_

**So whaddya think, you guys? Did you love it or hate it? I hope you at least liked it. Please review to your leisure and tell me the things you liked and the things that I could improve on. Please reivew at least, PLEASE?**

**I sure hope I've painted a realistic portrait of the Wild West thus far. John hasn't had much interaction with townsfolk, but he will soon as he helps strangers on the road. Lots of stuff from the Wild West will be portrayed here too. Oh, and moral issues will be devolved in this story. What you people neccessarily think is right will be violated in this story, and don't get me wrong; I am a moralist. But John isn't. And you'll see what I mean throughout this story.**

**I also hope you guys like the combat in this story. I didn't want some action-packed, yet heavily unrealistic battle scenes like in Pokemon. I wanted something that seems a lot more realistic, like gun fights. Why can Pokemon turn into guns? I dunno.**

**Anyways, let me conclude by giving you guys descriptions of the guns used here:**

**#172: Pichu Revolver- Resembling a 2nd Gen. Colt Action Single Army Revolver, it is colored yellow with the barrel and hammer colored a darker yellow with pink circles at each side and black trim. Despite it's small size and limited capability, it is still a favorite for ranchers, cattlemen, and outlaws alike. It's weak electrical capability is perfect for rearing up disobeying Pokemon, and in several cases, can kill people with an electric jolt. **

**#13 Weedle Revolver- Resembling a French Flintlock, it is painted brown with pink and white trim. Because of their short range, it was frequently used in conjunction with close-ranged weaponry. Despite that, their ability to infuse poison into their bullets can easily become a terribly deadly weapon in the hands of a skilled user. **

**Again, I hoped you liked it! Now please press the review button right down there!**


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